It's time to call the bailers . . .

I know I'm going to start sounding like a broken record, but another beautiful day, high of 75 with low humidity.

The Sugar Tyme Crabapple tree has finished blooming but the Poukhanese Azaleas are still going strong. They are one of my favorite flowers, they never disappoint. While the Goldmound Spirea set off their beautiful lavender blooms, the houses white bays are the perfect backdrop. Quite often I'll come around the corner and catch Goldfinches getting a drink in the birdbath. I think FB#3 is probably my favorite flowerbed.

I so miss my two 90' White Pine trees. In the picture to the right taken last summer, you can see their trunks on the hill. Not only did I loose the shade from the large Birch tree that grew between them, but now I don't have the shade from my pine trees either. FB#3 used to be a shade garden, now it's in sun for more than half the day, we'll see how the plants adapt. On a happier note, I never noticed till now how much the Sugar Tyme Crabapple tree has grown, cool :-).

In the afternoon I mowed the upper yard, if you can call it that. It was so long it was like cutting Timothy Grass in preparation for bailing hay. I could only mow half strips, so it took twice as long (like 3 hours long).

Boy oh boy did the weeds get away from me in the grass last year, I'll be trying to get the weeds killed all summer. Not only that, but the wild grasses are getting carried away as well. I think I'll have to Round Up the grass because I'm not sure Weed-be-Gone will kill it. Then I'll have to add dirt and grass seed, and I just hate trying to mow around dirt with baby grass coming in . . . oh well, what ya gonna do.

Jeff stopped by with the contract for removing the trees from February 10's winter hurricane. He's hoping he can start the job February 14, work the weekend, and finish up on Monday, we'll see. I'm a bit nervous about having all the trees taken down and how the yard is going to react, not to mention the Mountain Laurel that grows in the woods. I'll be sure to take pictures of the process, whether I share them or not is another matter, it may be too depressing.